Kara rolled her eyes. “Obviously. Don’t you know anything about me?”
The human growled in frustration. “I gave you all of that information.”
“Yes, you did. It was very kind of you,” Kara taunted. “Thank you for your cooperation.” Her smile deepened as she saw the rage twisting at his face. “You may untie your ankles and leave as soon as I leave the room.” She turned and started toward the door. However, she stopped just as she reached the door and turned back toward him. “Ah, I almost forgot,” she said, waving her dagger at him, “this dagger is coated in poison. So, when I cut you just a moment ago…”
Sverre looked down at his bleeding hand, his eyes widening in horror.
“You didn’t think I’d let you live, did you?” Kara said, raising an eyebrow. “The poison will kill you within two days…give or take a few hours. So, if you don’t have your affairs in order, I’d suggest you get on that.” Then, she left.
The Target
By the time Erik pulled the car into the parking lot, outside Audrey’s apartment, the clock on the dashboard read: 10:03 P.M, which meant they still had time to get Audrey out of town, if they left quickly. Rose sucked in a deep breath for courage and opened the car door, heading toward the rickety stairwell.
“Would you at least slow down?” Kallias complained. He caught up with her easily, falling into step beside her, his boots thudding against the cracked, poorly-painted pavement. “It’s bad enough that you’re walking into a trap…”
“I’m not walking into a trap. I’m walking into an apartment,” Rose said with a sassy smile. “And I don’t know why you would be worried about how fast I’m walking. I’m sure you can keep up with those twelve-feet-long legs of yours.”
“I’m only six and a half feet tall,” Kallias muttered as he followed Rose up the rusted, metal stairs. “How could I possibly have twelve-feet-long legs?”
“It’s called a hyperbole,” Rose said. “A hyperbole is a literary term that…”
“Ugh! Someone stop her,” Erik groaned. “She’s defining things again.”
Rose cast a quick glance behind her, at Erik, who had caught up with them and was now following them up the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with a playful smile. “Does my intelligence threaten your fragile, overinflated ego?”
Erik laughed. “Nah,” he said, his green eyes sparkling with amusement. “Because at least I don’t forget how to finish a sentence when I see a hot girl.”
Rose winced. “Okay, you win that one,” she mumbled under her breath.
Erik and Kallias stayed behind her, near the metal railing, as Rose stepped forward to knock on the door. She took another deep breath and knocked twice.
“Who’s out there?” Audrey called through the door. Her voice sounded higher than usual, a note of panic bleeding into her words. “I…I have a gun…”
Rose lifted her eyebrows. “It’s Rose,” she said. “You know? The person you were expecting tonight? And Audrey, you have never owned a gun in your life.”
“Okay. Just hang on a minute,” Audrey sighed. “There are a lot of locks.”
Rose frowned at that. “Since when?” she muttered under her breath.
“I still don’t know why we’re doing this,” Kallias said as they waited. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, leaning heavily against the metal railing.
Rose turned to level him with a glare. “Because she’s an innocent human in danger of being murdered by an enemy of ours. Also, because she’s my friend.”
Kallias raised an eyebrow. “Apparently, you and I have very different ideas about what the word friend means,” he muttered. He glared at the door.
At that exact moment, the door opened to reveal a very frazzled Audrey.
Audrey glanced at each one of them, her reddened, hazel eyes wide, and ran her hand through her tangled mess of brown hair. “Come in. Quickly.”
They followed Audrey into the small apartment, and as soon as they were inside, she closed the door and locked it behind them. And then, she locked it again. And again. And again. Rose lifted her eyebrows at the four deadbolt locks.
“Levi put in the locks for me,” Audrey explained. “He’s a locksmith.”
“Yeah, I remember,” Rose said, frowning. “Are you two dating again?”
“Oh, goodness, no,” Audrey said, rolling her eyes. “He’s too…stable.”
Rose raised an eyebrow. “That’s not really a flaw, Audrey,” she laughed.
“I know. I know,” Audrey said, waving her hand dismissively. She walked past them, dragging her feet toward the bed. “When I’m ready to settle down, I’ll marry someone like him, and we’ll have a family. I’m just not ready for that yet.”
Rose wrinkled her nose as Audrey pushed three bags of fast food off of the bed and into the floor so that she could plop down onto the bed. “Umm,” she began hesitantly, “Audrey, do you need some help cleaning this place up?”
Audrey glared at her. “I can’t take the trash out. Someone might kill me.”
Rose nodded. “Okay. That’s…understandable,” she said, choosing her words carefully, since Audrey was already in a sour mood. “I’ll help. If you want?”
Audrey waved her hand irritably. “Knock yourself out,” she muttered.
Erik stepped out of the way as Rose began to gather up the trash that covered almost every inch of the cramped apartment. He watched Audrey with a concerned frown. “Have you seen anyone since you had that dream?” he asked.
Audrey shifted her gaze toward him, which turned out to be a very bad idea. Because her thoughts seemed to fade away, suddenly, as she gawked at him.
Rose straightened, her brows furrowing. “Audrey?” she asked worriedly.
“It’s the allure,” Kallias said. “She’s a human, so she’s vulnerable to it.”
“Oh, right,” Rose said, shaking her head. “I didn’t think about it.”
“It’s also the fact that I’m hot,” Erik added with an arrogant grin.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Audrey, please, stop fueling his ego,” she said as she picked up trash. “If his head gets any bigger, we’ll all be smothered to death.”
“Hmmm?” Audrey said, blinking, as she slowly came out of her daze.
“I asked if you’ve seen anyone,” Erik said, “and then, you stared at me.”
“Well, you’re nice to stare at,” Audrey said, “even if you are a monster.”
Rose froze, her brows creasing with frustration. “Audrey,” she began.
Erik held up his hand. “It’s fine. I am a monster. I’ve murdered people. I’ve tortured people. I killed…Alana,” he paused, exhaling shakily as he tried to stay in control of his emotions. “I am a monster…but not because I’m a vampire.”
Rose sighed, sympathy burning in her bright blue eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“Killing Alana made you a hero,” Kallias argued, “not a monster.”
“It was necessary,” Erik acknowledged, “but no less tragic.”
Kallias scowled at him. “She’s the entire reason we’re in this mess.”
“Kallias,” Rose said, “I know you mean well, but this is not the time.”
“Don’t worry about me, Rose,” Erik laughed. “I’ve been around him for twelve hundred years. I’m used to the insensitivity. I know he still loves me.”
Kallias grimaced. “Love is a word I use very rarely. And never for you.”
Audrey watched them, her eyebrows lifting in disbelief. “Well, this is all nice and…pretty terrifying, actually,” she said dryly, “but I called him a monster because he is one. Physically. You all are. That’s what vampires are. Monsters.”
Rose sighed, “Yeah, Audrey. We haven’t forgotten your opinion of us.”
“If you want our help,” Kallias said, “I’d suggest you stop insulting us.”
“You’d let me die?” Audrey asked. “Just because you don’t like what I have to say? It’s her fault I’m going to die anyway!” She pointed angr
ily at Rose.
Rose cringed. “I won’t let you die, Audrey,” she sighed, “no matter how you feel about me. Kallias and Erik are free to make their own decisions, though.”
“Well, you’re Rose’s best friend, and Rose is my friend,” Erik told Audrey. “Plus, you’re hot…for a human. So, obviously, I’m not letting you die either.”
“For a human?” Audrey said. “So, I’m not hot, compared to a vampire?”
“Well, technically, no,” Erik said bluntly. “We’re all physically perfect.”
Rose rolled her eyes at him. “Erik, you have some good qualities, but you are as shallow as they come. Personality is far more attractive than appearance.”
“Maybe to you, but you’re a weirdo,” Erik muttered. “Besides, I haven’t seen much of Audrey’s personality. Just the part where she insults us constantly and begs me for sex. I have to admit, though, the begging for sex was pretty hot.”
Rose blinked in shock. She turned toward Audrey. “He’s joking, right?”
Audrey shrugged. “I was drunk, and I didn’t know he was a vampire.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Why am I even surprised?” she muttered. She sighed and gestured toward Kallias, “Well, Kallias is going to pretend to not want to help you because that’s just how he is, but I happen to know that Kallias is a good guy, and his actions are driven by a strong sense of morality. So, when it comes down to it, even though you’re being a little…mean, he’ll still help you.”
“Rose has too much faith in me,” Kallias grumbled under his breath.
Audrey stared at Rose in disbelief. “You think I’m being mean?”
Rose scowled at the stupidity of that question. “No. Not at all,” she said sarcastically. “I think that calling people monsters is the nicest thing in the world.”
Audrey threw herself back down on the bed and groaned, “If anything was going to change about you, it should have been that sassy mouth of yours.”
“Nothing can change that,” Rose laughed. She sat down on the edge of the bed, beside Audrey, and smiled at her. “Happy belated birthday, by the way.”
Audrey raised an eyebrow. “My birthday was six days ago, you jerk.”
“I know,” Rose said slowly. “That’s why I added the word belated.”
“Okay, smartass,” Audrey said as she sat up and leaned toward Rose. “Tell me this. If you knew, why didn’t you call on my birthday and say it then?”
“I did,” Rose said, “but you didn’t answer because you still hated me.”
Audrey frowned suspiciously and grabbed her phone from the television tray that set at the corner of the bed. She quickly scrolled through her recent calls, determined to prove Rose wrong. She winced as she saw that Rose had indeed called six days ago. “Oh. Crap,” she said. “Well, you could’ve left a voicemail.”
Rose offered her an apologetic smile. “My feelings were a little hurt.”
Audrey stared at her for a moment, and then, she sighed, “I’m sorry.”
Rose shrugged. “It’s okay. My feelings can take quite the beating.”
Audrey looked away. “I just…I never expected you to change like this. I don’t know how to handle it. I mean, you’re scary now. You’ve never been scary.”
“I beg to differ,” Erik interjected, staring at Rose with wide, green eyes.
Rose rolled her eyes at him. “There’s no reason to be afraid of me,” she told Audrey. “I’m the same person as before. It’s just my body that’s different.”
“And your instincts,” Kallias added, “and your eating habits…”
Rose glared at him. “Yes. Thank you, Kallias. That’s very helpful.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, ignoring the obvious sarcasm in her voice.
Audrey continued to watch Rose warily, as if she were still trying to figure out if Rose was still the same person. “What have you done,” she began, her voice sharp with accusation, “that would make Owen’s boyfriend want to kill me?”
“Rose hasn’t done anything,” Kallias said defensively.
Rose pushed a lock of red hair out of her face and sighed, “It sounds like Jared is part of the Assassins of Light. It’s an organization that hates vampires.”
“They don’t just hate us,” Erik added. “They want to eradicate us.”
Audrey frowned. “Well, I hate vampires, too. So, why would he kill me?”
“You can’t hate someone you know nothing about,” Rose said. “You’re better than that, Audrey. I know you are.” Then, without giving Audrey time to argue, she continued, “The Assassins of Light are extremists. Originally, they used religion as a scapegoat for their hate. I don’t know what they’re using now. But what I do know is that their actions are fueled by hate. And hateful people hurt others. They have no sense of rationality or love. No one is safe from their hate.”
“It’s possible that they believe that killing you would bring Rose here,” Kallias added. “It’s possible that all of this is a trap, and we just walked into it.”
“Oh, you poor babies,” Audrey sneered. “I might die because of this, and I’m not even a vampire! Why would a vampire-hating group kill humans, anyway?”
“Because that’s what hate groups do,” Kallias said. “It’s happened over and over and over, all throughout history. A group arises and claims to hate this one particular group of people for justifiable reasons. But those justifiable reasons are just lies. Excuses for their hatred. In reality, they just hate people who are different from them. And their own kind, who they claimed to be protecting, get killed, too, if it benefits their…cause. I’ve watched humans do this to each other more times than I can count. Unfortunately, now, they’re dragging us into it.”
“If hatred goes unchallenged, everyone gets hurt. Eventually,” Rose said.
Audrey ran her hands through her hair to loosen some of the tangles. “If I wanted to hear about history, I’d listen in my history classes, but I don’t. I take naps, instead. Because naps are glorious, and history is the opposite of glorious.”
“The opposite of glorious is…ordinary,” Rose stated, “or…unremarkable.”
Audrey scowled at her. “Why are you the way you are?” she complained.
Rose frowned at the strange question. “Is that a rhetorical question?”
Audrey rolled her eyes. “Look, I just don’t want to die,” she sighed. “I don’t care about history or the Assassins of Whatever. I just don’t want to die.”
“You’re not going to die,” Rose stated firmly. “I won’t let that happen.”
“How are you going to stop it?” Audrey asked. “You’re just…Rose. I mean, I know you’re a vampire now, and apparently, your eyes turn red, but…”
“Yeah, the…er…red-eyes part is kind of a big deal,” Erik interrupted.
“Not to mention, the fact that all vampires are dangerous,” Kallias added.
Rose grimaced at them. “Yeah, I’m not totally sure this is helping, guys.”
Erik leaned against the corner of the bookcase, ignoring the withering look that Rose shot his way when it wobbled a little. “What is our plan, anyway?”
“Well, we can’t leave her here by herself,” Rose began, “even during the day. An Assassin of Light would know that we can’t protect her during the day.”
Audrey nodded tiredly. “In the dream, he killed me during the day.”
Erik swept his gaze around the tiny apartment, his bright green eyes wide with horror. “You’re not suggesting that we all stay here, day and night, are you?”
“Oh, goodness,” Rose groaned, rolling her eyes. “Don’t be such a snob.”
Erik shrugged. “I’m just saying,” he said defensively, “it’s a little small.”
“It’s probably best if we don’t stay here long anyway,” Kallias interjected. He stepped forward. “It’s unsafe for Audrey to stay here because, obviously, the Assassins of Light would have obtained her address already, if they were planning to kill her. And it’s unsafe
for Rose because this is most likely a trap, set for her.”
Audrey shrank back a little, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of leaving for who-knows-where with a bunch of vampires. “Umm…where would we go?”
Erik flashed a charming smile at her. “How do you feel about road trips?”
“I usually love them,” Audrey said, “as long as there is hot sex involved.”
Rose scrunched up her face in confusion. “What kind of road trip…”
But before she could finish, she heard Erik say, “That can be arranged.”
Rose turned and shot a murderous glare at him. “Erik!” she complained.
“What?” Erik said, grinning at her. “I’m just trying to be hospitable.”
“She…is…my…best…friend,” Rose growled, enunciating each syllable.
“Ignore her,” Audrey told Erik. She waved her hand dismissively. “She always thinks that the guys I’m interested are like…too dangerous or something.”
Rose frowned. “They are. Half of the guys you date are ex-convicts.”
“The guy you’re dating is a vampire!” Audrey objected, laughing. “I think you win. Besides, your entire family tree has spent time in prison for something.”
“For drugs. Usually,” Rose provided. “One of the guys you dated was in prison for assaulting seventeen people in one day. How do you even manage that?”
“He was having a bad day,” Audrey sighed, “and it was…barely assault.”
Rose stared blankly at her. “Barely assault? What does that even mean?”
Audrey shrugged. “I still default to the fact that you’re dating a vampire.”
“Two of them, actually,” Erik added, much to Rose’s dismay.
Rose shot a frustrated glare at him. “I am not dating Kara.”
“Who is Kara?” Audrey asked, glancing back and forth between them.
“Rose’s girlfriend,” Erik answered…before Rose could object.
“You have a girlfriend, too?” Audrey said to Rose. “Huh, I’m impressed. I thought you’d die a virgin, but here you are, surprising me, with two lovers.”
“I don’t have two lovers,” Rose grumbled. “Kara is not my girlfriend.”
The Assassins of Light Page 8